Abstract
There are decades of research indicating ableism is extremely prominent. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between disability prejudice and institutionalization of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). This study had two research questions: (1) How does disability prejudice impact the number of people with IDD who are institutionalized in a state? and (2) How does disability prejudice impact spending on institutions? To do so, we utilized secondary data about state utilization of institutions (fiscal year 2015), and disability prejudice data from 325,000 people. Findings revealed, states with higher disability prejudice institutionalize more people, even when controlling for size. Moreover, states with higher disability prejudice also spend more on institutional funding, regardless of size or wealth.